


Jabberwock island is like hell, but at least you're here

by PeeledEyelids



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Multi, hinanidai, hinidai - Freeform, other ships areeeee minor loll
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:07:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26298379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeeledEyelids/pseuds/PeeledEyelids
Summary: A rework of 'No name, only despair' except the writing and pacing is going to be like. Way better.
Relationships: Hinata Hajime/Nidai Nekomaru, Kuzuryu Fuyuhiko/Pekoyama Peko, Mioda Ibuki/Nanami Chiaki, Soda Kazuichi & Tanaka Gundham, hinanidai - Relationship, hinidai
Comments: 5
Kudos: 19





	1. In which Togami meets his end

**Author's Note:**

> The beginning of a new day on this island!!  
> It's been over two years, but it is what it is.  
> Hey! Who turned the lights out??

-BEGIN PROLOGUE-

Jabberwock Island, a gorgeous place located…. Who knows where, to be honest.  
Currently inhabited by 16 students, and two weird talking stuffed animals. 

The leader, a stuffed all-white rabbit named Usami, self proclaimed magical girl and teacher. Her lackey, a half black-half white bear devoid of all personality. He proclaimed himself as ‘Monokuma’ upon arrival, but after losing his battle with Usami, he is simply referred to as ‘you’ or ‘him’. He doesn’t do much other than the bidding of Usami or serve as a punching bag for the students.

And, speaking of, the students. Hajime Hinata, Nagito Komaeda, Byakuya Togami, Kazuichi Soda, Gundham Tanaka, Hiyoko Saionji, Teruteru Hanamura, Nekomaru Nidai, Mahiru Koizumi, Akane Owari, Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, Chiaki Nanami, Ibuki Mioda, Sonia Nevermind, Mikan Tsumiki, and Peko Pekoyama. All students that were promised a glamorous future and told they were the most unique of them all.  
And yet, they were here instead. Being kept safe from some unsaid ‘thing’ Usami allured to. It didn’t make sense, but since there wasn’t really any homework and the boarding was nice, they all came to appreciate it. However they would have all hoped to have graduated by now. After all when you’re a group of 18-19 year olds, you’ve either graduated, or a bunch of third years whose birthdays are mostly earlier in the year. 

Would you like to know something dumb? The very concept of hope fragments.  
It’s a good concept, no doubt, but it's still very flawed. Even though Usami really tried her best to get everybody to become a whole friendship group, they all branched off into their own ‘cliques’ as time progressed.

Not to say they still didn't get along with each other. It’s like everyone, excluding Hiyoko of course, understood that no matter what they did, they would probably all still be stuck here until all of the hope fragments were gathered. 

And the fragments were being gained very… slowly. Conflict of interests and clashing of personalities led to a mutual understanding of ‘You seem cool, but we have nothing to really talk about.’ or ‘Being around you infuriates me, and I might hit you if you’re around me for too long.’ 

It even got to the point where Kazuichi finally stopped following after Sonia, Which led to him and Gundham reconciling with, and becoming very close to each other. Some people have speculated that they might be secret lovers, but it’s none of their business, so it’s left a mystery. 

Overall, the island has become home to them all, and until they’re all able to get back into Japan, it will probably stay like that. 

-END PROLOGUE-

-BEGIN PRESENT TIME-

Hajime stirs from his restless sleep. An ominous feeling of future misfortune looms over his head, following him like a lost puppy, as he rises up and trudges to the restroom. After doing his business, he figures today was not a day to brush his teeth (Which he would come to regret as morning breath is horrible if not expelled from existence), and goes straight to washing his hands and changing his clothing. 

He shakes the rest of the sleep from his body so he can quickly make his way from his cottage to the hotel restaurant. His stomach grumbles at the thought of whatever Teruteru has in store for them for breakfast today. No matter how much he eats that guy's food, it always seems to taste like he’s having it for the first time. They didn’t label him as the ultimate cook for nothing.

He speedwalks over there, which could honestly border on a light run, if it weren’t for the fact that his gait was more walk-y. Still, he proceeded with haste, making his way around anyone he felt might want to try and make conversation with him. He had one thing on the brain currently. Food.

Today’s breakfast was a lovely spread of crepes with a whipped cream type of filling, topped with various fruits depending on your fruit mood today. Hajime’s mood was strawberry, which didn’t really compliment his glass of orange juice, but he didn’t care. He slinks over to his normal group, plate and juice in hand.

There were only five seats at his table, the other four already occupied by Byakuya, Nagito, Kazuichi, and Gundham. (Sometimes Chiaki would pull up a chair and sit with them, but today she was sitting at the ‘all girls’ table which consisted of three tables pushed together.) Nobody really paid him any mind, as he slipped into the open seat next to Byakuya. They were too busy talking about this plan Byakuya had in mind for a while. A little party of sorts, something to celebrate everyone’s birthdays on a collective whole, as nobody had really celebrated theirs as the year passed. To be fair though, it was kind of hard to tell when your birthday was as everyone had just stopped paying attention to the time.

Every day had become the same on the island. Wake up, eat breakfast, do bullshit for the entire day, eat dinner, go to bed, repeat. For a while there, Usami tried to give them prompts to gain hope fragments, but they always fell through, and eventually she gave up. Holding onto the hope that one day they would do it themselves. Obviously, they haven’t yet.

When they start discussing what day to have this, Usami rudely barges into the conversation. “Where are you going to do it?” 

Byakua glares at her. “I was probably going to have it at that old-looking building. It’s been under renovation for long enough.”

If Usami had eyebrows, they would have risen. “I never gave permission for that.”

He stares her down. “It’s supposed to bring everyone closer together.”

She lights up at that. “I wish it would happen elsewhere, but anything for all of you to become closer as friends!”

With that she bounds away. Hajime stares after her. How was it that easy?? He turns back to the group where Byakuya has a smug look on his face, Nagito is praising him on how well he did that, and Kazuichi and Gundham are mindlessly chattering about… Little race cars for the four dark devas of destruction. Kazuichi is delighted at having come up with such a bright idea, whereas Gundham seems offended by it. Something to do with ‘competing will cause disharmony in their current equality.’ It makes sense, but the thought of hamsters driving around in tiny cars makes Hajime smile a little.

He FINALLY remembers his, now room temp, breakfast. In order to make up for lost time, and to catch up with everyone else, he quickly shovels large bites into his mouth. The crepes were absolutely amazing and he wishes he could at least savor them a little bit, but he doesn’t particularly favor sitting at the table by himself. The thought of becoming a food critic when they finally get out of here crosses his mind, just so he could continue eating Teruteru’s cooking forever. Teruteru may have his… quirks… But at the end of the day he has a wicked good talent.

“Hajime.” an expectant voice pulls him from his thought process.

“Yeah?” He has a mouthful of food, but he wouldn’t dare ignore Byakuya.

“I’m going to announce the party to everyone else. Make sure to be there before-hand to help with any last minute things, okay?” He has a stern face, but something about his tone seems soft.

Hajime nods, swallowing his lump of crepe. “No problem!”

Byakuya’s eye’s narrow. “At least half an hour.”

Hajime stares at him, expecting some sort of insult about his lack of consistency when it came to time. “Okay..?”

Byakuya nods curtly, before rising from his seat. He clears his throat loudly, which stops most conversations, except for the one between Hiyoko and Mahiru about something probably dumb. Byakuya glares directly at them. Hiyoko calls him a fat pig and Mahiru calls him rude, but they both shut up. Hajime appreciates how Byakuya is just the decided leader of them all, and how he’s relatively respected by everyone.

“Rejoice. I have decided to throw a party tomorrow.” He crosses his arms, smugly.

Mikan trembles a little. “A p-party..?”

His smug grin deepens. “That’s right. A huge party that will last from sundown to sunrise.”

Ibuki jumps in, her face seemingly horrified. “Party till the sun comes up?!”

You can probably deduce the rest of the story from here. Attendance being mandatory, Teruteru offering up his services, and Nagito losing the drawing of the chopsticks to clean up the building, which he said he would be doing tomorrow ‘For convenience’.

-NEXT DAY; EVENING-

Hajime trudges to the old building. The outside still looks as dingy as it did the day before, so he has his doubts that Nagito actually did anything. However, upon entering, the inside is practically shining. It has a nice smell of woody cinnamon and whatever Teruteru is making. When he enters the dining room, Byakuya is standing in the middle of the room, his arms crossed. (Most of the other partygoers are there too, but Byakuya has a dark look on his face which is where Hajime’s eyes focus first.)

“You’re late.”

“It’s hard to tell exactly what time ‘sundown’ is, if I’m going to be honest.”

Byakuya scoffs. “You surely have paid attention a little bit to the passing time?”

Hajime’s eyes narrow. What was he on about? “Anyways… what do you need me to do, now that I’m here?” 

He scoffs again. “Nothing now… Well… Actually I’ve had this ominous feeling hanging over me for a while, so you’ll be attending me to look for anything suspicious.”

Hajime feels pain. Kazuichi looks at him apologetically. There is nothing he can do to escape this. He slowly trails after Byakuya, trying to make small talk but failing. They stop in the kitchen, to which Byakuya barks the order to ‘search for weapons’ to him. Hajime is bewildered. The last time he was this paranoid was when Monokuma appeared. After a thorough search, they find a few skewers, forks, and knives. Byakuya crosses his arms, his large figure giving off a very spooky aura.

“Byakuya… Unless spoons are a weapon I don’t really know what to tell you.”

Byakuya carefully puts them all into a duralumin case he procured out of nowhere. “Did you look at the items list? It’s peculiar how one of the items is missing in such a well organized kitchen.”

Hajime sighs, still bewildered. “Is this really necessary..?”

Byakuya nods, full of certainty. “I made a promise to myself that no one would become a victim a while ago. And since I’ve gotten this weird feeling, that promise has come to light once again.”

Hajime understands. He’s been having that same feeling, after all. “Is that all..?”

Byakuya crosses his arms, a glare forming across his rotund face. “...What do you mean?”

“Well, I’m just assuming, but… I think something must’ve happened to you…”

Byakuya turns away a little “That’s not it… I’ve been a distrustful person...For as long as I can remember.”

“Distrustful person..?”

Byakuya pauses for a moment.

“Hpmh. I don’t really like to talk about my past, but… It’s fine, I’ll tell you a little bit of it.” He turns to stare directly at Hajime. “I cannot talk to others about my past.. I suspect that my skeptical nature is partly to blame. Distrusting others… and being distrusted in turn… For a long time, my life has been a living hell. It was inevitable that I would end up this way. But, in this kind of situation, my skeptical nature might be of good use. If we’re to survive here, skepticism is necessary at all costs.”

“Survive?!”

Bakuya doesn’t respond. Maybe he should change the subject.

“By the way… that past you mentioned.”

“...Now is not the time. One day, however… I suspect that shall be soon if all goes smoothly tonight.”

Hajime nods. He has no idea what Byakuya’s talking about, but he feels like he shouldn’t really ask right now. It sounded pretty deep though. Hajime knows that Byakuya cares much for the well-being of everyone here, but it still surprises him when that surfaces itself. Just as they make their way out of the kitchen, Teruteru arrives.

Hajime would rather not stay, so he slips out as Byakuya asks Teruteru about an iron skewer while Teruteru shrieks at the absolute state the kitchen is in. Lucky for everyone, it doesn’t take long for the other two to follow suit in going back to the dining room. Byakuya and Peko briefly have a quiet conversation that ends in her taking his duralumin case and leaving the dining room. Puzzled looks follow behind her, but not for too long as they understand how she is in crowds. 

Akane is quite literally drooling all over herself as she stares hungrily at the spread. “Can we eat now?! I’m friggin starvin, here!”

Byakuya recoils in disgust. “Let’s begin.”

Her aura becomes intense “ALLLLL RIIIIIGHT!!!”

And with that, the party commences.  
Not to break the fourth wall or anything, but if you’re reading this, then you know exactly comes next. And I would like to apologize.  
Not everyone is going to have a happy ending.

The power goes out. And when it comes on, Mikan is spread eagle on the ground. Yet amidst the spectacle, Akane smells blood.  
And then they find him.  
Byakuya Togami is lying face-down underneath a table, his blood pooling underneath him.  
He never gets up ever again.  
The anguish that everyone feels is immense. Even those who weren’t close to him felt it.  
Hajime however.

Despite Byakuya being a distrustful person, it was like he had taken Hajime under his wing. Hajime had gotten to know him the best, Hajime had begun to understand him as a person, and how he operated. Even though there was so much he didn’t know about Byakuya, they were still like best friends.  
He doesn’t feel himself fall to his knees.  
He doesn’t feel Kazuichi, Chiaki, and Gundham rush to his side.  
He doesn’t feel anything at all in that moment, yet his scream is deafening.


	2. In which Nekomaru is a housewife

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chap bc I kinda lagged on where i shoulda ended it  
> some fluffy stuff, and of course a proper introduction to our big beautiful boy.

Hajime hasn’t slept for days. He hasn’t felt anything but despair. The events and what partook afterward keep playing in his head.

-BEGIN FLASHBACK-

His screams were deafening. Once they started it was like they couldn’t stop. His friends all tried in vain to silence, and it eventually led to Nekomaru picking him up and removing him from the room, to the outside. Once the cool night air hit his face he began to quiet down, but it was quickly replaced by hiccupping sobs. Nekomaru gently sat him down on the edge of the deck of the building, sitting next to him. Slowly, the rest of the group trickled outside, to come and comfort him. Most crying, themselves. 

Finally Usami and Monokuma show up. Monokuma has a devilish grin on his face, which is very out of character for him. Usami has her staff in paw, gripping it tightly, waiting for any sudden movement.

Her punishment was swift and just, singling out the perpetrator immediately. Teruteru Hanamura. At this point Monokuma had begun to chant ‘rule breaker, rule breaker.’ in a freakishly monotonous tone. Teruteru broke upon being singled out. Begging not to be punished for such a high crime, knowing what would come of it. 

His explanation was full of sobs and stutters, but it was clear what had happened. Monokuma had begun singling out Nagito, giving hints of missing memories and world's end. And how only killing would restore them. He had given Nagito the impression that everyone else had been told these things, too. Which is when the plan was set in motion. Whilst cleaning the old building, Nagito began setting up his plan to begin the killing. Teruteru caught him when he came in early to begin preparation, and he had begun talking about how doing this would determine everyone’s true hope. According to Teruteru, it was horrifying. So he had carried out his own plan to keep everyone safe from Nagito. Yet in the end, he had failed.

Usami had been trembling with anger, her beady eyes welling up with tears. She gave Monokuma permission to punish Teruteru as he saw fit. Which meant the ultimate sacrifice. Yet after Monokuma had his fun, Usami proceeded to beat him senseless. His grin had disappeared, and he had become listless once again. Nagito however, made it out with a slap on the wrist. He went on a strange rant about hope and well… He can’t really remember what it was about. All he knew was that it was a completely different side of Nagito that scared him. It had caught everyone off guard. 

-END. PRESENT TIME BEGIN.-

Gundham, Chiaki, and Kazuichi came to visit him the most. Chiaki gave him constant updates, Gundham would make sure he ate a proper amount of food, and Kazuichi was just there because he felt wrong when he wasn’t. Of course the rest of the group had come to visit him, but no one else was as close to him as they are. Akane and Nekomaru invited him to come train in order to take his mind off of it, but he refused to even get up at that point.Hiyoko was there to hurl insults at him for being lazy (however she did give him a half-eaten bag of gummy bears) and Mahiru was there to scold her if she was too mean. Fuyuhiko tried to be a therapist of sorts for him, but it didn’t really last long, due to his hard-hearted nature. The rest were just there to check in on him. This excludes Nagito, who has been strangely.. absent.

Today Hajime decided he was going to get up and change his clothes. He got his shirt and pants off before crumpling back onto his bed in anguish. Boxers counted as an outfit change right?  
He couldn’t even cry anymore. He was just numb to anything that wasn’t crushing despair.

A knock sounded at his door, he groaned loudly at it. There was a pause, and then whoever it was came barging in.

“PARDON THE INTRUSION!!”

Hajime groans again, a little louder this time, not even turning to look at who it was. “I already said, I don’t want to train with you and Akane.”

Nekomaru’s laughter was loud and jovial. “I’M NOT HERE FOR THAT!! I’M HERE TO MOTIVATE YOU!!”

Hajime turns over, blinking slowly. “Wha..?”

“FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS!! PUT ON A SHIRT.”

His face gets a pinkish hue, but he doesn’t move. “I need to do my laundry.”

Nekomaru graciously shucks off his jacket and hurls it at Hajime. It catches his face, launching him back down as he was beginning to sit up. Nekomaru laughs uproariously. “THEN FIRST ORDER IS!!! PUT THAT ON AND COLLECT YOUR CLOTHING!”

Hajime pulls the jacket down, glaring daggers at him. The leather jacket smells of… man. Old spice, and sweat, and just a general musk. It’s a nice gesture, but the jacket is very large on him. He has to keep rolling the sleeves up and it frustrates him immensely. 

“Nekomaru… Why are you helping me?”

The larger man looks at him, bewildered. He looks so strange with his jacket off, as he’s mid-picking up a shirt that was previously discarded on the floor. Like a really buff housewife. “Because I want to?”

Hajime takes a moment to process what he said, as that was the first time he had used his indoor voice today. “I mean I guess, but… I don’t know? We aren’t very good friends so it’s strange.”

Nekomaru frowns at him, standing back up. “You need all of the friends you can get right now! Now get up and help me.”

With this, Hajime snorts. He finally slides off of the bed, the jacket draping down mid-thigh. The whole situation is… weird. It’s very out of character for both of them, but the change of pace is nice. Hajime stoops down to help pick up garments that Nekomaru intentionally left behind for him, putting them unceremoniously into his lonely laundry basket. Nekomaru follows suit, apparently he didn’t know where they went.

Hajime picks his basket up. “Thank you for the help.”

Nekomaru stares at him. “If I leave, now, then I won’t know if you actually did your laundry.”

Hajime cringes, his plans foiled. “Fine… let’s go.”

Nekomaru beams at him, how is this man full of nothing but pure sunshine? They leave his cottage, which is when he completely realizes that he is literally wearing nothing but his boxers and Nekomaru’s jacket and NEKOMARU IS FOLLOWING HIM OUT OF HIS COTTAGE OH GOD THIS LOOKS WRONG. Hajime can feel the sweat bead on the back of his neck as he thinks of any prying eyes that might fall upon them as they pass by. 

His heart practically stops when he realizes he’ll have to explain himself to anyone who dares to ask. Oh god he should have stayed in bed, and just dealt with the wrath of Nekomaru. Before realizing it they’re standing in front of the Rocketpunch market. Hajime takes a deep breath, so far they haven’t ran into anyone, which means that there is most likely someone in between here and the little laundromat, Usami had created in the back of the store. 

“Hello?” A large hand waves in front of Hajime’s face.”Right here is not an appropriate place to sleep, you know.”

Hajime startles. “R-Right…”

They step through the automatic doors. The cool air of the interior hit hajime’s bare legs, causing him to shiver a little. This coupled with his increasing anxiety was nearly unbearable. It is then, that he sees her.

“Oh, good morning, Hajime!”

His soul leaves his body. Out of all people, why does he have to run into Chiaki? 

“This is not what it looks like!” His face flushes with a nice pinkish hue.

Nekomaru laughs uproariously. “What do we look like?”

Chiaki giggles, sleepily. “Hajime, you’re so silly. He’s only helping you, obviously.”

Hajime’s face darkens. Maybe he shouldn’t think about things sometimes. “Yeah, right.”

Chiaki yawns a little, her face is now staring at some handheld game she procured out of her pocket. “So, Hajime. I have something important to tell you. It’s about Nagito.”

He perks up a little at this, as the only person who hadn’t come to see him was Nagito. Nekomaru stiffens a little. They all decide to finally make their way to the back, without a word.

“He’s been… Separated from the group until further notice.”

Hajime tilts his head. “Is that why he hasn’t come to visit with you guys?” 

She nods. “Someone,” she pauses and looks at Nekomaru, who’s sweating bullets. “Tied him up and put him in the dining hall of the old building.”

Hajime peers up at Nekomaru, clearly suspicious. “Do you know why?”

Chiaki pauses again, mouth slightly open as she thinks of the correct wording. “It was because a week ago he became really scary and some of us took the liberty of protecting the others.”

Nekomaru sighs, shoulders dropping. Hajime stares even harder at him, as he begins loading his clothing into the machine. There's a slight silence between them as he shuts the machine and turns it on. He’s grateful it’s not one of those pay ones. He turns to the larger man to face him completely.

“Do you have anything to say about Nagito? You look like you’re going to burst at the seams.”

Nekomaru tenses back up, he has fear in his eyes. “Nope. Why would I have anything to say? It’s a shame he can’t exercise while he’s tied up though.”

WOW, this guy is a bad liar. “Right. Do you know who tied him up, though?”

His eyes bulge out of their sockets. “I MUST GO. ITS AN URGENT SHIIIIIIIT!!!”

With that, he promptly bolts out of there. Hajime turns back to Chiaki, where they stare at each other for a moment before dissolving into laughter. It felt really good to laugh again.


	3. in which there's a soudham side episode.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's a filler chapter because I need to.... revise my outline lol  
> what do you MEAN I was gonna make them play spin the bottle. seven minutes in heaven?????? crazy.

After finishing his laundry, properly folding and putting it away, Hajime feels some sort of accomplishment. Decidedly, today was no longer a day for despair. Perhaps it was a day to reconnect with friends, even though it had only been a week and it’s not like they hadn’t seen each other since then anyways.  
He shed himself of Nekomaru’s jacket in order to change into some clothes he had set aside for himself, forgetting about it almost immediately. He casually strolls out of his cottage door, figuring that at least two out of the three close friends he has are most likely in their common hangout spot.

-LOCATION: Airport-

Hajime looks around at his surroundings. Left, right, behind...above??? All clear.  
He steps into the one airplane that Kazuichi was able to manage to get working a little bit. Of course there’s no engine, but that never stopped him from figuring out a way to hook up power. It can’t fly, but the lights and A/C work, so nobody complains. 

It’s kind of a secret hangout for them. Everyone knows of its existence, due to Kazuichi being rightfully proud of himself, but those who aren’t close with their group just don’t go in. It’s an unspoken rule of them all. Stay out of our space, and we’ll stay out of yours. 

Hajime announces his arrival to anyone who may be in there, before making his way towards the back section. It used to be an economy class section, but the group helped with taking out seats to make better room for everything. He pushes past the dividing curtain to see that what’s left of their group is all there.

Kazuichi and Gundham are seated next to each other, Kaz’s head on Gundham’s shoulder as he snoozes lightly. Gundham’s face turns red, embarrassed that they’re seen like this. Even though they trust Hajime and Chiaki not to talk about their relationship with the others, it can still be overwhelming even when they see them being affectionate towards each other.

Hajime smiles a little at him, plopping down two seats away from Chiaki. As per norm, her eyes are laser focused onto one of her many handheld gaming devices. From the sounds of it, it seems like she’s playing a fighting game. Just briefly she glances at him. 

“Hajime! Good to see you’re wearing your own clothes again.”

He chokes on his own spit for a second. “I agree.”

A little tune of victory plays from the device, leading to her finally looking up at him fully. “You remembered to return his jacket to him, right?”

“Ah…” He stares off to the side for a moment. “Well… Not yet.”

She yawns, raising an eyebrow. “It’s rude to keep items that don’t belong to you, you know.”

Hajime huffs. “What are you, my mom? You’re starting to sound like Mahiru…”

Chiaki giggles softly. “I’m only playing. Just make sure he gets that back.”

He nods a little. It gets quiet again. Hajime relishes in the fact that their group used to be more lively. Both Komaeda and Togami, gone from them without a second thought. Even though there wasn’t a definitive ‘leader’ of their group, It was usually one of those two who would take control and make their days go by a little faster. Hajime sighs without even realizing it. Chiaki tilts her head at him, already having started another round up again on her device.

“Hm…?”

“Huh?” Hajime looks at her for a moment before processing what she meant. “O-oh! I was just thinking about Togami and Komaeda… I miss them.” 

She nods solemnly. “Me too…”

They hear Gundham clear his throat softly. “I too, miss them. Even their… strange behaviors.”

They all fall silent, the only sound around them is Kazuichi’s light snores and Chiaki’s game.  
At some point, the A/C kicks on, which causes them to stir for a moment. 

...

Hajime sighs again, this time not a sad one. Nobody knows what to talk about anymore. 

...Finally something new happens! A yawn and the sound of someone stretching in their seat. And finally, Kazuichi has awoken to greet them all.

“Oh. When did you guys get here?”

Hajime turns in his seat to face him. “We’ve been here for a while, to be honest.” 

Kaz yawns a little more, laying his head back down on a blushing Gundham. “Wild.”

Gundham clears his throat again. “H-Have you no shame?”

Kazuichi raises an eyebrow. “They’re cool, right? Or am I being too much?”

Gundham pauses, clearly going through an inner turmoil on what to say. Kaz takes the time to sit back up, cup Gundham’s chin, and nuzzle the side of his nose a little, pressing their foreheads together. It’s close to kissing, but it’s pretty obvious they haven’t actually done that yet. He pulls back and they stare at each other for a moment. Gundham is a bright strawberry red, which he halfheartedly attempts to cover with his scarf. The four dark devas of destruction come crawling out of it, disgruntled at the sudden disturbance.

Kazuichi chuckles. “Alright, alright, I’ll stop.”

Gundham doesn’t respond, clearly too flustered to.

“Oh, guys! I have an idea on something we should do!”

Chiaki pauses her game and turns around too, suddenly intrigued by something that Kazuichi has to say. “I’m in.”

He looks at her dumbfounded. “But… I haven’t…”

“Whatever it is, it’s probably either fun, or stupid, but it’ll help everyone feel a little better, so I’m in.”

He stares at her, slightly deflated. “I was just gonna suggest goin’ to the beach…”

She giggles “You chose a fun one!”

He growls a little. Gundham mutters something about not wanting Champ-P to get waterlogged, because he can’t swim. Hajime thinks about that time Kazuichi tried to get him to wear the matching swimsuits. (The ones that literally just looked like they were bordering on panties.) 

“Kazuichi, please tell me you have actual swim *shorts.*”

Kazuichi looks bewildered. “You saying you still don’t like our matching swimsuits?!”

“I didn’t wear it the first time and I’m still not wearing it a year and a half later.”

Kaz wails as a joke. “You’re so mean to me!”

He laughs at him. “My point still stands.”

Kazuichi pouts. Hajime chuckles a little more before turning around and standing up. He’s not sure what time it is, but he gets the sudden urge to go return Nekomaru’s jacket to him… And also stop by Rocketpunch for some actual swim shorts. 

This is when he realizes that he doesn’t own any swim shorts, despite having been there for such a long time. He usually would just swim in whatever he’s wearing and nobody ever questioned him about it. Man he’s kind of a loser.


End file.
